Super Bowl 2013

[Steve Williams]

49ers favored by Vegas books to win Super Bowl

By HANNAH DREIER, AP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sports books in Las Vegas made the San Francisco 49ers a favorite in the Super Bowl over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night based on the team's solid record and popularity with sports fans.

Oddsmakers gave the 49ers an early 4 1/2-point handicap and put the total score at 49 points for the Feb. 3 game in New Orleans. This means gamblers who bet on the Niners will collect only if they win by a margin of victory surpassing 4 1/2 points.

In addition to betting on the victor, fans can put money on whether the total points scored during the game will fall short of or exceed oddsmakers' predictions.

Jay Kornegay, race and sports book director at The LVH casino, said his book made the 49ers a 4 1/2-point favorite and quickly moved the line to 4 points as bettors gambled on the Ravens.

``The 49ers have been a sexy team all year,'' he said. ``The Ravens don't get a lot of respect from the public, but that bandwagon is getting a lot more supporters as we speak.''

The 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game Sunday afternoon, rallying in the second half after falling behind by 17 points. The Ravens defeated the New England Patriots for the AFC championship later that night, with Joe Flacco throwing three touchdown passes in just over 10 minutes.

Oddsmaker Benjamin Eckstein of America's Line said he made the 49ers a 4 1/2-point favorite to encourage action on both teams.

``San Francisco is what we call a very public team because they've been very good over the past couple years, and people just like to bet on them,'' said Eckstein, who provides betting lines to more than 100 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. ``The 49ers have done very well against the spread this year, so they've made people a lot of money.''

The Super Bowl is the most popular betting event of the year in Las Vegas.

Last year, sports books made the New England Patriots three-point favorites to win the Super Bowl over the New York Giants, but the Giants won 21-17. Fans bet $93.9 million at Nevada casinos on the matchup- the most wagered in the past decade- and sports books made $5 million on the action, according to data from the Gaming Control Board.

Oddmakers say average fans bet far more money on the Super Bowl than professional bettors - making conventional wisdom all-important in setting betting lines.

``The Super Bowl is the one game all year where the public's money dominates the action,'' Kornegay said. ``That's why we have to gear this line toward the public perception.''

Johnny Avello, director of race and sports at Wynn Las Vegas, opened the 49ers as 5-point favorites. He said he expected heavy betting with a competitive underdog and a sibling rivalry narrative inspired by brothers John and Jim Harbaugh coaching the two teams.

``Baltimore's kind of dangerous. And you've got two brothers playing against each other. It makes for a good matchup,'' he said.

Avello said he planned to spend Monday watching footage from past games and devising what he said will likely exceed 200 proposition bets.



So what say all of you. Who do you feel will win it all. Please vote in the poll

 

[mep]

The next two weeks will be about the Harbaugh brothers. I do predict that the Ravens will win because they have a great defense and they have a great offense. Flaco has proven himself to be an elite quarterback and he has much more experience than the tattoo man from the 49ers.

 

[Steve Williams]

The next two weeks will be about the Harbaugh brothers. I do predict that the Ravens will win because they have a great defense and they have a great offense. Flaco has proven himself to be an elite quarterback and he has much more experience than the tattoo man from the 49ers.

It would be a great send off to Ray Lewis if they win but the 9ers are about to rain on his parade

 

[mep]

Steve-We will see. Last night all of the TV pundits were saying that the mighty Patriots were going to beat Baltimore. I didn't think so anymore than I think the San Fran will beat the Ravens. I think it will be a damn good game though. I don't predict a blowout, but I do predict the Ravens will win.

 

[hvbias]

I think Pees and their defense will find a way to contain Kaepernick. I also think Ray Lewis is one hell of a motivator and that is going to help the Ravens. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Steve Williams]

I don't sell the Ravens short as they are indeed a great team and are peaking at the right time and are healthy. Nonetheless the 9ers have what I like to call the X-Factor, to wit Colin Kaepernick who when he gets out of the pocket can run as good as many running backs in the league. Flacco can't do that.

We shall see Mark. I have said from before the season ever started that I predicted that not only would SF be in this year's SB, but that they will win it as well. It wil lindeed be a terrific game and BTW, I too for the past 2 weeks have been prediciting a Bro Bowl. John beat Jim once. He won't do it again.

What I find wonderful is how both teams have the utmost love and respect for their individual Harbaugh coach. They are truly inspirational

 

[mep]

Some interesting storylines are going to be built around the brothers Harbaugh. Tom Crean is the coach of the IU basketball team and Tom's wife is a sister in the Harbaugh clan. So Tom has to pick one of his brother-in-laws to root for. So does his wife. So does the entire Harbaugh family although I'm sure we will get the standard "we love them both and want them both to do well" storyline. I do think we will witness history that won't be repeated, and that is having two brothers as head coaches in the NFL at the same time and facing each other in a superbowl. It speaks volumes about both of them.

 

[Steve Williams]

Agree on all points Mark. Win or lose it should be a wonderful game

 

[carolkoh]

Gonna be a great game. Yeah, Forty-Niners are favored, but I really want the Ravens to win. LoL. Go, underdog!

 

[audioguy]

While we (Falcons) lost, it became very clear to me watching the game that SF has it's weaknesses - they are not quite as impenetrable/powerful/daunting as I first thought. I actually expected us to get totally killed, but we did not. I have very mixed emotions on who I think will win and who I want to win but I am placing my bet with the Ravens.

 

[Steve Williams]

The Ravens have weaknesses too Chuck but you have to give the 49ers their due for coming back from 17-0 and sticking it to the Falcons. I do agree that the Ravens are a scary team to play

 

[audioguy]

I think it was Jimmy Johnson at halftime of the Falcons/Forty Niners game who said that turnovers would determine the outcome of the game and he was spot on. That also may be a key to the Super Bowl.

And of course the Ravens have weaknesses but I think they have the emotional advantage if not the athletic one.

But ---- who knows.

 

[Steve Williams]

Emotional advantage? How so?

 

[Steve Williams]

Clairvoyant Camel Predicts Baltimore Ravens to Win Super Bowl

By Eliza Murphy | ABC News Blogs

They say betting is a losing man's game, but for one clairvoyant camel in Lacey Township, N.J., it's a winning one.
Princess, a 26-year old Bactrian camel, lives at Popcorn Park Zoo and apparently has the powers to predict the winners of the Super Bowl.
"Over seven years she's only lost once," zoo's General Manager John Bergmann told ABCNews.com. "Last year, she picked the giants to win and they won. I think she has a record of 6 and 1."

The method to this camel's madness might be hunger driven, however."She loves graham crackers. In one palm we write down with one of these magic markers the 49ers, and on the other, the Ravens. We cover them with graham cracker so she can't see. Whichever she chooses to eat first is her pick," Bergmann said. "She picked the 49ers to win yesterday, and they did."
But just this morning Princess had a change of heart.
"She picked the Baltimore Ravens. I guess she picked the older brother," Bergmann joked of the sibling rivalry this year between brothers, John Harbaugh, head coach of the Ravens, and Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the 49ers.

Princess has honed her prognostication skills by predicting the outcome of many New York Giants and New York Jets games since 2006, after a local radio station contacted Bergmann about getting an animal involved in the DJ's weekly picks pool.
"She would pick a game a week against a DJ and she wound up beating him all the time," Bergmann said. "She likes to make fun of the Jets and [head coach] Rex Ryan a lot."

 

[WLVCA]

Not a big fan of either team but I'm going to pull for the Niners.

The Cleveland Browns were my team as a kid and the Browns were stolen from Cleveland and moved to Baltimore by Art Modell.

Also, not a fan of Ray Lewis.

Was a big NFL fan for many years but haven't paid as much attention in the last 2 or 3 years.

 

[mep]

The Cleveland Browns were my team as a kid and the Browns were stolen from Cleveland and moved to Baltimore by Art Modell.

Funny how Karma works. The Baltimore Colts were stolen in the dead of night and became the Indianapolis Colts.

 

[rbbert]

9er's vs. Ravens will probably turn on which 9er defense shows up; the one from the first half last Sunday, or the one from the second half.

 

[FrantzM]

I have been so wrong this year that I hesitate to prognosticate :b .. The Ravens seem to be on the defensive and offensive rolls the Giants were lat year at this time. They have beaten the best QBs in the game throughout the year. And in the playoff Joe Flaco has looked very good and even dangerous at times.

And that's all I am going to say about that

 

[Steve Williams]

49ers backup Alex Smith says it's tough to sit

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Colin Kaepernick's image filled the Superdome scoreboard, his ears tucked into his red 49ers hat just so, as he sat at one of the seats reserved for the biggest personalities and most important players at Super Bowl media day.

He is, after all, San Francisco's starting quarterback.

About 50 yards away, not in one of those seats set aside for starters, stood Alex Smith, Kaepernick's backup. Smith was not shown on the scoreboard.

Question after question came at Smith, but instead of being about how to beat the Ravens or what it might feel like to win a championship, most concerned his transition from starter to reserve in this, ironically, his best season in the NFL. NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. A top-of-the-league passer rating. One game when he completed 18 of 19 passes. But then came a concussion in one game, sitting out as a precaution in the next - and that was that. The job became Kaepernick's for good.

"I'm not going to lie about any of that," Smith said Tuesday at the Superdome. "Tough at times, for sure, tough to accept, tough to watch."

And then he added: "But we're in the Super Bowl."

About 15 minutes later, the guy who took his spot in the lineup, was asked whether he feels bad at all for Smith.

"I mean, it's a business," Kaepernick replied. "You have to do whatever you can to try to be successful."

 

[MylesBAstor]

Something to sink your teeth into in honor of today's game.